Just in time for summer, New York City has opened large new sections of the new East River Park.

Local officials and the design team which includes MNLA, AKRF, One Architecture, BIG, Arcadis, and Jacobs marked the opening of large sections of the new East River Park, which is being rebuilt at an 8- to 10-foot-higher elevation as part of the flood protection provided by East Side Coastal Resiliency. The areas opened to the public on Memorial Day.

This quarter-mile stretch of park brings a variety of new amenities to the community, including basketball and tennis courts, picnic and BBQ areas, a multi-use turf field, open lawn space, and inviting zones for nature exploration and water play. As an addition to the already completed Stuyvesant Cove Park, it now forms part of a broader one-mile span of realized Manhattan coastal resiliency.

MNLA is excited to announce 2025 promotions. From emerging designers to a seasoned professional, these individuals consistently elevate both our firm and the profession of landscape architecture through their consistent leadership and contribution of new ideas. We wish them continued professional growth and success as valued members of the MNLA team.

• Yelena Zolotorevskaya, RLA – Associate
• Wanyi Li – Senior Landscape Designer
• Jeb Polstein, WEDG – Senior Landscape Designer
• Julia Szeto – Senior Landscape Designer

On September 30th, Yale University celebrated the groundbreaking of its new Physical Sciences and Engineering Building (PSEB), the centerpiece of the Upper Science Hill Development (USHD), which spans 16 acres and 611,000 square feet.

The complex will serve as a hub for quantum science, engineering, and materials initiatives. It embraces the topography of New Haven’s urban and landscape context, and integrates the campus with the surrounding neighborhood. The USHD is one of Yale’s largest and most complex buildings to date, and it embodies the client and the design team's commitment to excellence, sustainability, and community-oriented design.

This groundbreaking commences Phase 1 of 2, with construction completion projected for 2030.

Read more here.

As part of New York Climate Week, MNLA Principal Molly Bourne will be taking part in a panel discussion on September 24 to discuss coastal resilience initiatives that preserve access to the waterfront while integrating public space. Join us! Please click through for registration info.

Present-day climate change is intimately linked to geological and environmental history. Living Landscapes is an upcoming talk and tour that brings the past, present, and future of landscape into focus.

Kim Fendrich, educator and program coordinator at the Rockefeller State Park Preserve, will provide an overview of the billion-year evolution of the Hudson Valley landscape that continues to shape the region today.

Signe will then discuss MNLA's recent work at Pocantico's David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center as well as additional project experience.

An up close look at the features introduced in both presentations is scheduled as a tour after the Q&A and reception.

Please click through for registration info.

On Tuesday, July 16 Associate Principal Johanna Phelps with Rockefeller University's George Candler led a tour for Metro Hort of MNLA's design of the 1.4 acre Stavros Niarchos Foundation David Rockefeller River Campus landscape.

Completed in 2018, the landscape frames both expansive and intimate views, with native plantings offering a lush landscape of texture and movement. The open space now engages Rockefeller's riverfront location and affords scientists respite and a place for dialogue.